Most folk magick requires
contacting spirits, the most common being ancestor spirits. Ancestor veneration
is perhaps the oldest form of religion and the oldest form of magick. Why
ancestors? Spirits that were never human have difficulty understanding what
people want or need. Their perspective comes from the beings or things they
inhabit, or they may never have had physical form at all. A magus can never
assume, no matter the amount of coercion or offerings used, that a non-human
spirit has the magus’ best interest in mind. They have their own agendas that
can be totally alien. An ancestor on the other hands, has been human and
understands the needs of human beings.
The second oldest form of
Operative Magick, and perhaps the most popular today, is to call upon a spirit
that’s considered to be a god or has been elevated in some way. Prayer may be
the last refuge of the scoundrel, but it has the benefit of being proven to
work, and most magi have been scoundrels at one time or another.
In a way, prayer is
ancestor worship. Most anthropologists agree that gods evolve from honored dead
who become culture heroes and then eventually deified. But any god worth
calling on already has many other devoted followers. Also, deities tend to
specialize, being the god of grain, or of sex, or of writing, which can be
perfectly fine if what you want to accomplish fall along those lines and you
already have a relationship with that god. Other gods may claim dominion over
everything, but will exclude certain persons from their favor, and demand total
obedience. In the end, any magus’ connection to any given deity will be tenuous
at best, and any spirit that has risen to such heights has their own agenda
first and foremost.
The spirits of the dead,
while they may not have the raw power of gods, are much more likely to have
your interests at heart. If they want attention, they have few options, so the
magus becomes their sole provider of contact to the material world, giving the
relationship more equality. In the end, most people value family relationships
and will help a family member when asked.
Ideally, a magus should
have two sets of ancestors. Their own personal ancestor spirits and the spirits
shared by their Emergent Tribe. Personal ancestors, or the mighty dead, need
not be blood relatives at all. A close friend or mentor that has died can be
more amiable than a blood relative that cares little. Though a magus should not
fall into the trap that makes them preclude ancestors they have had
philosophical issues with. Once a spirit moves past the veil, few hold on to
the prejudices they had on Earth. A magus may find that a relative who was a
die-hard monotheist, who would have no tolerance for their spiritual practice,
will be totally understanding after death. Having your body rot away and
becoming a being of pure consciousness tends to elevate your perspective.